Rowing machine

ABSTRACT

A rowing machine includes a base mount with pulleys, a resistance device, a handle, a transmission member, and a resilient member. The resistance device includes a housing, a shaft having an outer shaft section located outside the housing, and an inner shaft section located inside the housing, a plurality of blades mounted to the inner shaft section, and a transmission wheel mounted to the outer shaft section. The transmission member extends from the handle and has an engagement section engaged with the transmission wheel. The resilient member has a first end disposed to the based mount, and a second end connected with the transmission member in a way that the transmission member and the resilient member wrap around the pulleys. As such, the rowing machine can provide uniform resistance and accurately determine the travel distance of the handle that is pulled by a user.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to exercise apparatus, and more particularly, to a rowing exercise machine.

2. Description of the Related Art

The conventional rowing machines employ a handle connected with a long belt wrapping around the shaft of a resistance device for several circumferential windings. When a user pulls the handle backward, the long belt drives the shaft to rotate, thereby providing a desired resistance force against the user. In the recovery phase of the rowing stroke, i.e., in the process that the handle returns to its initial position, the long belt will be rewrapped around the shaft again under an effect of a spring. By preforming the rowing stroke repeatedly, the effect of exercise and fitness can be achieved.

One of the drawbacks of the above-mentioned conventional rowing machine lies in that the resistance device cannot provide a uniform resistance force to the user during the drive phase of the rowing stroke due to the grounds that the winding body, which is formed by the long blet that is wrapped around the shaft for several windings, will gradually decrease in its diameter during the process that the user pulls the handle backward. This experience is different from the actual rowing stroke of the user that rows a boat on water. Further, the conventional rowing machine uses a sensor to detect the rotational turns of the shaft and then covert the detected turns to the distance that the handle travels. As such, another drawback lies in that the distance the handle travels cannot be accurately calculated due to the grounds that the diameter of the winding body will vary from time to time.

It is known that there are commercially available rowing machines that can solve the above-mentioned drawbacks. However, these improved rowing machines are generally complexity in structure, resulting in difficulty in maintenance and high manufacturing cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been accomplished in view of the above-noted circumstances. It is an objective of the present invention to provide a rowing machine, which can provide a uniform resistance force and accurately calculate the travel distance of the handle pulled by the user, and has a simple structure, such that the rowing machine can be easily maintained.

To attain the above objective, the present invention provides a rowing machine comprising a base mount, a resistance device, a handle, a transmission member, and a resilient member. The base mount is disposed with a plurality of pulleys. The resistance device includes a housing, a shaft extending from an outside of the housing into the housing, a plurality of blades, and a transmission wheel. The shaft has an outer shaft section located outside the housing, and an inner shaft section located inside the housing. The transmission wheel is mounted to the outer shaft section. The blades are mounted to the inner shaft section. The transmission member extends from the handle and has an engagement section engaged with the transmission wheel. The resilient member has a first end disposed to the based mount, and a second end connected with the transmission member in a way that the transmission member and the resilient member combinedly form a continuous member wrapping around the pulleys. As a result, the rowing machine can provide a uniform resistance force and accurately determine the travel distance of the handle that is pulled by a user, and has a simple structure, such that the rowing machine can be easily maintained.

Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a rowing machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a part of the rowing machine of the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a part of a rowing machine according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a rowing machine according to a third embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a rowing machine according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Hereunder four embodiments are given for illustrating the structural features and effects of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a rowing machine 1 provided by a first embodiment of the present invention is composed of a base mount 10, a resistance device 20, a seat 30, a foot pedal rack 32, a handle 34, a transmission member 40 and a resilient member 48.

The base mount 10 comprises two guide rails 12 extending in a longitudinal direction, a front fastening rack 14 disposed on the front ends of the two guide rails 12, a rear fastening rack 16 disposed on the rear ends of the two guide rails 12, and a plurality of pulleys 18 mounted to the front fastening rack 14 and the rear fastening rack 16, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 2, the resistance device 20 comprises a housing 22, a shaft 24 extending from an outside of the housing 22 into an inside of the housing 22, a plurality of blades 26, and a transmission wheel 28. The housing 22 is shaped like a flat cylindrical container in which water or other fluid is filled. The shaft 24 extends vertically and has an outer shaft section 241 located outside and below the housing 22, and an inner shaft section 242 located inside the housing 22. The blades 26 are mounted to the inner shaft section 22 and located inside the housing 22. The transmission wheel 28, which is realized as a gear in this embodiment, is coaxially mounted to the outer shaft section 241. Further, a one-way bearing 29 is disposed between the transmission wheel 28 and the outer shaft section 241.

The seat 30 is disposed on the guide rails 12 of the base mount 10 in a way that the seat 30 is forwardly and backwardly moveable along the guide rails 12. The foot pedal rack 32 is disposed on the base mount 10 and located in front of the seat 30 and behind the resistance device 20.

The handle 34 is connected with an end of the transmission member 40. As shown in FIG. 3, the transmission member 40 is composed of a belt section 42 and an engagement section 44. The belt section 42 is formed by an elongated flat belt, which extends forwardly from the handle 34 to a front side of the base mount 10, then wraps around a first pulley 18 a and extends downwardly to a bottom side of the base mount 10, then wraps around a second pulley 18 b, which is mounted to the front fastening rack 14, and extends backwardly to a rear side of the base mount 10, and then wraps around a third pulley 18 c, which is mounted to the rear fastening rack 16, extends forwardly to the bottom side of the base mount 10 and connects the engagement section 44. Thereafter, the engagement section 44, which is realized as a toothed belt in this embodiment, wraps around the transmission wheel 28, extends backwardly to the rear side of the base mount 10 and connects the resilient member 48. Thereafter, the resilient member 48, which is realized as a resilient rope in this embodiment, wraps around a fourth pulley 18 d, which is mounted to the rear fastening rack 16, extends forwardly to the front side of the base mount 10 and connects the front fastening rack 14 of the base mount 10. In this embodiment, the transmission member 40 and the resilient member 48 can be combinedly considered as a continuous member 50. In this way, the continuous member 50 wraps around the pulleys 18.

When a user holds and then pulls the handle 34 backward, the belt section 42 drives the engagement section 44, which is engaged with the transmission wheel 28, to move to further drive the transmission wheel 28 to rotate, such that the blades 26 rotate and stir the water in the housing 22, thereby providing a resistance force against the user. Because the engagement section 44 wraps around the transmission wheel 28 less than one turn, namely the engagement section 44 does not wrap around the shaft for several windings as the conventional rowing machine does, the rotational speed of the shaft or the torque exerting on the shaft will not vary due to the change of the diameter of the winding body, such that the resistance device 20 can provide a uniform resistance force to the user in the drive phase of the rowing stroke. When the user pulls the handle 34 to a rear limit position and releases the pulling force, the rebounding force of the stretched resilient member 48 will drive the engagement section 44 to move the transmission member 40 back to its initial state. During this recovery phase of the rowing stroke, the transmission wheel 28 will run idle relative to the shaft 24 thanks to help of the one-way bearing 29, such that the transmission member 40 can smoothly return to its initial position.

With the above-disclosed technical features, the rowing machine 1 of the present invention can provide a uniform resistance force to the user during the drive phase of the rowing stroke, which is much like a real rowing stroke when the user rows a boat on water. Further, the rowing machine 1 of the present invention has a simple structure that can be easily maintained, thereby easing the monetary burden of the consumers. Furthermore, when the user pulls the handle 34 backward, the travel distance of the handle 34 is simply proportional to the number of rotational turns of the shaft 24 or the transmission wheel 28. Therefore, the travel distance of the handle 34 can be accurately calculated by measuring the number of rotational turns of the shaft 24 or the transmission wheel 28. Moreover, the route arrangement of the transmission member 40 and the resilient member 48 can make sure that the user can receive the effect of the resistance device 20 properly during the drive phase of the rowing stroke, and the resilient member 48 can provide a proper rebounding force to return the transmission member 40 back to its initial position without or less providing a resistance to the user during the recovery phase of the rowing stroke.

Based on the technical features of the present invention, various modifications to the structure of the rowing machine 1 may be made. For example, the number and positions of the pulleys 18 may be changed, the one-way bearing 29 may be omitted, the route arrangement of the transmission member 40 and the resilient member 48 may be modified according to various requirements, the transmission member 40 may be configured as having the engagement section 44 in its entire length without the belt section 42, the engagement section 44 may be configured as a chain or other structure having similar function thereof, and the transmission wheel 28 may be configured as a sprocket wheel or other structure having similar function thereof in association with the engagement section 44.

The mounting position and arrangement of the resistance device 20 may be changed. For example, FIG. 4 shows a rowing machine 2 according to a second embodiment of the present invention, which is similar in structure to the rowing machine 1 of the first embodiment with the difference lying in that the outer shaft section 63 of the shaft 62 of the resistance device 60 is located above a top side of the housing 64. Further, FIG. 5 shows a rowing machine 3 according to a third embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the housing 72 of the resistance device 70 is vertically arranged in a way that the outer shaft section (not shown) of the shaft (not shown) is located at a right side of the housing 72. Moreover, FIG. 6 shows a rowing machine 4 according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, in which the resistance device 80 is located behind the seat 82. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A rowing machine, comprising: a base mount disposed with a plurality of pulleys; a resistance device including a housing, a shaft extending into the housing and having an outer shaft section located outside the housing, and an inner shaft section located inside the housing, a plurality of blades mounted to the inner shaft section, and a transmission wheel mounted to the outer shaft section; a handle; a transmission member extending from the handle and having an engagement section engaged with the transmission wheel; and a resilient member having a first end disposed to the based mount, and a second end connected with the transmission member; wherein the transmission member and the resilient member combinedly form a continuous member wrapping around the pulleys.
 2. The rowing machine as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a one-way bearing disposed between the transmission wheel and the outer shaft section.
 3. The rowing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the continuous member extends forwardly from the handle to a front side of the base mount, wraps around a first one of the pulleys and extends downwardly to a bottom side of the base mount, wraps around a second one of the pulleys and extends backwardly to a rear side of the base mount, wraps around a third one of the pulleys and extends forwardly to the bottom side of the base mount, wraps around the transmission wheel and extends backwardly to the rear side of the base mount, wraps around a fourth one of the pulleys, extends forwardly to the front side of the base mount and connects the base mount.
 4. The rowing machine as claimed in claim 3, wherein the transmission member comprises a belt section connected between the handle and the engagement section.
 5. The rowing machine as claimed in claim 4, wherein the belt section of the transmission member is an elongated flat belt.
 6. The rowing machine as claimed in claim 4, wherein the belt section of the transmission member extends forwardly from the handle to the front side of the base mount, wraps around the first one of the pulleys and extends downwardly to the bottom side of the base mount, wraps around the second one of the pulleys and extends backwardly to the rear side of the base mount, and wraps around the third one of the pulleys, extends forwardly to the bottom side of the base mount and connects the engagement section, and then the engagement section wraps around the transmission wheel, extends backwardly to the rear side of the base mount and connects the resilient member, and then the resilient member wraps around the fourth one of the pulleys, extends forwardly to the front side of the base mount and connects the base mount.
 7. The rowing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the engagement section of the transmission member is a chain; the transmission wheel is a sprocket wheel.
 8. The rowing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the engagement section of the transmission member is a toothed belt; the transmission wheel is a gear.
 9. The rowing machine as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a seat disposed on the base mount in a way that the seat is forwardly and backwardly moveable on the base mount.
 10. The rowing machine as claimed in claim 9, wherein the resistance device is disposed in front of or behind the seat.
 11. The rowing machine as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a foot pedal rack disposed on the base mount.
 12. The rowing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outer shaft section of the shaft is located at a bottom side, a top side, a left side or a right side of the housing of the resistance device. 